1 Court and ball

The game of 3x3 is played on a mini full court with two baskets (one on each end of court). A regular 3x3 court playing surface in official competitions is approximately 41' wide x 22' deep with regular basketball court markings.

A size 28.5 ball is used in all official competitions.

2 Teams

Each team shall consist of 5 players (3 players on the court and 2 substitutes).

3 Game officials

The game officials shall consist of 1 or 2 referees and time/score keepers.

4 Beginning of the game

4.1. Both teams shall warm-up simultaneously prior to the game.

4.2. A coin flip shall determine which team gets the first possession. The team that wins the coin flip can either choose to benefit from the ball possession at the beginning of the game or at the beginning of a potential overtime.

4.3. The game must start with three players on the court.

5 Scoring

5.1. Every shot inside the arc shall be awarded one 1 point.

5.2. Every shot behind the arc shall be awarded 2 points.

5.3. Every successful free throw shall be awarded 1 point.

6 Playing time/Winner of a game

6.1. The regular playing time shall be as follows: Two 15-minute halves of running playing time and a 5-minute half-time. The clock shall only be stopped during injury situations.

6.2. However, the first team which scores 21 points or more wins the game if it happens before the end of regular playing time. This rule applies to regular playing time only (not in a potential overtime).

6.3. If the score is tied at the end of playing time, one two-minute overtime period will be played. There shall be an interval of 1 minute before the overtime starts. The first team to score 2 points in the overtime wins the game. After two overtime periods played and no winner, there will be a selected player-to-player face off, and first to score wins. There will be a coin toss for possession.

6.4. A team shall lose the game by forfeit if at the scheduled starting time the team is not present on the playing court with 3 players ready to play. In case of a forfeit, the game score is marked with w-0 or 0-w (“w” standing for win).

6.5. A team shall lose by default if it leaves the court before the end of the game or all the players of the team are injured and/or disqualified. In case of a default situation, the winning team can choose to keep its score or have the game forfeited, whilst the defaulting team's score is set to 0 in any case.

6.6. A team losing by default or a tortuous forfeit will be disqualified from the competition. Note: if a game clock is not available the running time’s length is at the organizer’s discretion.

7 Fouls

7.1. A team is in a penalty situation after it has committed 6 fouls. After a team has reached 9 team fouls, any subsequent foul will be considered technical. Players are subject to 5 personal fouls per game. After 5th foul player is ejected.

7.2. Fouls during the act of shooting inside the arc shall be awarded 1 free throw, whilst fouls during the act of shooting behind the arc shall be awarded 2 free throws.

7.3. Fouls during the act of shooting followed by a successful field goal shall be awarded 1 additional free throw.

7.4. Team fouls 7, 8 and 9 shall always be awarded with 1 free throw. The 10th and any subsequent team foul as well as technical and unsportsmanlike fouls will be always awarded with 2 free throws and ball possession. This clause is applied also to fouls during the act of shooting and overrules 7.2 and 7.3.

7.5. Possession is kept after the last free-throw derived from an unsportsmanlike or technical foul and the game shall continue with an exchange of the ball behind the arc at the top of the court.

7.6. Fouls not in the act of shooting or in bonus situations the ball will be checked-up at half court.

8 How the ball is played

8.1. Following each successful field goal or last free throw (ex article 7.5):

• A player from a non-scoring team will resume the game by dribbling or passing the ball from inside the court directly underneath the basket (not from behind the end line) to a place on the court behind the arc.

• The defensive team is not allowed to play for the ball in the “no-charge semi-circle area” underneath the basket.

8.2. Following each unsuccessful field goal or last free throw (# 7.5):

• If the offensive team rebounds the ball, it may continue to attempt to score.

• A player from a non-scoring team will resume the game by dribbling or passing the ball from inside the court directly underneath the basket (not from behind the end line) to a place on the court behind the arc.

8.3. Possession of the ball given to either team following any dead ball situation shall start with an exchange of the ball (between the defensive and the offensive player) behind the arc at the top of the court.

8.4. A player is considered to be “behind the arc” when neither of his feet are inside nor step the arc.

8.5. In the event of a jump ball situation, the defensive team shall be rewarded the ball.

(NO BALL OUT OF BOUNDS ON MADE OR MISSED SHOTS AND FREE THROWS)

9 Stalling

9.1. Stalling or failing to play actively (i.e. not attempting to score) shall be a violation.

9.2. If the court is equipped with a shot clock, a team must attempt a shot within 12 seconds. The clock shall start as soon as the ball is in the offensive players’ hands (following the exchange with the defensive player or after a successful field goal underneath the basket).

Note: If the court is not equipped with a shot clock and a team is not sufficiently trying to attack the basket, the referee shall give them a warning by counting the last 5 seconds.

10 Substitutions

Substitutions can be done by any team when the ball becomes dead, prior to the check-ball. The substitute can enter the game after his teammate steps off the court and establishes a physical contact with him. Substitutions can only take place behind the end line opposite the basket and substitutions require no action from the referees or table officials.

11 Time-outs

One 30-second time-out is granted to each team per half. A player can call the time-out in a dead ball situation.

12 Protest procedure

In case a team believes its interests have been adversely affected by a decision of an official or by any event that took place during a game, it must proceed in the following manner:

• 1. A player of that team shall sign the score sheet immediately at the end of the game and before the referee signs it.

• 2. Within 30 minutes, the team should present a written explanation of the case, as well as a security deposit of 100 USD to the Sports Director. If the protest is accepted, then the security deposit is refunded.

• 3. Referee will have final call if a last shot for a field goal at the end of the game was released during playing time and/or whether that shot for a field goal counts for 1 or 2 points.

13 Standings of teams

Both in pools and in overall competition standings, the following classification rules apply. If teams are tied after the first step, refer to the next one – and so on.

• 1. Most wins (or win ratio in case of unequal number of games in inter-pool comparison);

• 2. Head-to-head confrontation (only taking win/loss into account and applies within a pool only);

• 3. Most points scored in average (without considering winning scores of forfeits).

If teams are still tied after those three steps, the one(s) with the highest seeding win(s) the tie-breaker.

14 Seeding rules

Teams are seeded correlatively to the team ranking points (sum of the team’s 3 best players ranking points, prior to the competition). In case of a same team ranking points, seeding will be determined randomly prior to the competition start.

15 Disqualification

player committing two unsportsmanlike fouls will be disqualified from the game by the referees and from the event by the organizer. Independent thereof, the organizer will disqualify the player(s) concerned from the event for acts of violence, verbal or physical aggression, tortuous interference in game results. The organizer may also disqualify the entire team from the event depending on the other team members' contribution (also through non-action) to the aforementioned behavior. BBA has the right to impose disciplinary sanctions under the regulatory framework of the event.